THE LARGEST BMW 2-SERIES FORUM ON THE PLANET
2Addicts
2Addicts
BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
2Addicts | BMW 2-Series forum Technical Topics Mechanical Maintenance and TSBs: Break-in | Oil & Fluids | Servicing | TSB Long-Term Rated Fluids and Oils "Antifreeze" "Brake Fluid"

Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      01-26-2021, 04:48 PM   #1
Aceventura
Registered
0
Rep
1
Posts

Drives: 2017 M240i xDrive
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: NOVA

iTrader: (0)

Question Long-Term Rated Fluids and Oils "Antifreeze" "Brake Fluid"

Hello All.

4th yearly maintenance and state inspection due. 15K miles.

Can anyone tell me how long is long-term? The maintenance booklet states the antifreeze doesn't need changing unless repairs are necessary. Dealer states otherwise.

How often should the brake fluid be changes? Does flushing include flushing the ABS pump, etc.?

Thanks in advance! I've searched all over.
Jay
Appreciate 0
      01-26-2021, 05:48 PM   #2
delvec03
First Lieutenant
90
Rep
351
Posts

Drives: 228i Sport/ DSB
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: United States, DC

iTrader: (0)

I can't speak to brakes that well, but I did a bleed at the 2 yer point and it was clean. I'm going to check it at 3 yrs next time. when the dealer did it for me the brake pedal was revitalized as you'd expect. also, can't any place work on brakes? why pay the cost of a bmw dealership?

as for the antifreeze: if you drive it (you should) you're gonna wanna replace your water pump at 70-80k miles. that requires a drain of the coolant and you'll get new stuff regardless. boom.
Appreciate 0
      01-26-2021, 05:56 PM   #3
dradernh
Brigadier General
dradernh's Avatar
4179
Rep
3,472
Posts

Drives: 2017 M240i
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Ohio

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aceventura View Post
Hello All.

4th yearly maintenance and state inspection due. 15K miles.

Can anyone tell me how long is long-term? The maintenance booklet states the antifreeze doesn't need changing unless repairs are necessary. Dealer states otherwise.

How often should the brake fluid be changes? Does flushing include flushing the ABS pump, etc.?

Thanks in advance! I've searched all over.
Jay
I still use Mike Miller's Lifetime Maintenance Schedule to guide me: https://www.dslreports.com/r0/downlo...e%20v03.13.pdf.

IIRC, in there you'll find advice recommending annual brake fluid changes (and yes, you'll want the ABS pump cycled to ensure it's filled with fresh fluid - this per a Car and Driver article I came across in the last couple of years in which the author said something along the lines of "Your ABS system will thank you." Take it for what it's worth – given the cost of these cars today, I think it just be might worth a lot! ).

Mike's recommendation for coolant flushes is every two years. You'll note he points out the fluid remains unchanged as the recommended intervals continue to lengthen.

I follow both recommendations, considering them to be cheap insurance for a car I'm going to keep. Mike's rationales for these maintenance intervals make sense to me, too.

Mike answers members' questions in the Tech Talk column in Roundel, the magazine put out by the BMW Car Club of America. He will answer questions sent to him at techtalk@roundel.org, and he prefers (but doesn't insist upon) that queries come from club members. The club is worth joining, if only for the magazine.

The generally agreed-upon bottom line seems to be this: if you plan to keep the car, it's probably a good idea to follow an old school approach to fluid changes. OTOH, if you're getting out of the car in three years, 45K, or whatever, then leaving BMW's so-called lifetime fluids in the car is probably okay – for you, if not for the next owner.

My 2¢, of course.
__________________
2017 M240i: 23.6K, MT, Sunroof Delete, 3,432#, EB, Leather, Driving Assistance Package, Heated Front Seats | Sold: E12 530i, E24 M635CSi, E39 520i, E30 325is, E36 M3 (2)
TC Kline Coilovers; H&R Front Bar; Wavetrac; Al Subframe Bushings; 18X9/9½ ARC-8s; 255/35-18 PS4S (4); Dinan Elite V2 & CAI; MPerf Orange BBK; Schroth Quick Fit Pro;
GTechniq Crystal Serum Ultra Ceramic; Suntek PPF

Last edited by dradernh; 01-26-2021 at 06:07 PM..
Appreciate 0
      01-27-2021, 11:36 AM   #4
MarcoZandrini
Major
United_States
439
Rep
1,251
Posts

Drives: 2018 M240i
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Virginia

iTrader: (0)

To echo what dradernh has written, the brake fluid needs to be flushed every 2 years. Now, BMW doesn't flush the original fluid until the car reaches 3 years from its date of manufacture (not date of sale). The reasoning is that installation of the brake fluid at the time of manufacture is is done in a humidity free/low humidity environment. I had the dealer change all of the coolant (50/50 mix of BMW coolant and distilled water I provided) at the 3 year service.

The key to keeping these cars running is proper OCIs (7000 miles or less using a Mann filter and fully synthetic oil), coolant changes (2-3 years using the proper coolant and distilled water), brake fluid flushes every 2 years (I change the brake fluid before every track event) and changing the transmission fluid (+filter if it's an automatic) at 50k miles. My car has about 19k miles on the clock and I'll be changing the manual transmission fluid as soon as the local mil base opens its auto hobby shop.
Appreciate 0
      04-03-2021, 01:46 PM   #5
goover
Private
-4
Rep
54
Posts

Drives: 2018 230i Mineral Gray Met
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: South Carolina

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by MarcoZandrini View Post
To echo what dradernh has written, the brake fluid needs to be flushed every 2 years. Now, BMW doesn't flush the original fluid until the car reaches 3 years from its date of manufacture (not date of sale). The reasoning is that installation of the brake fluid at the time of manufacture is is done in a humidity free/low humidity environment. I had the dealer change all of the coolant (50/50 mix of BMW coolant and distilled water I provided) at the 3 year service.

The key to keeping these cars running is proper OCIs (7000 miles or less using a Mann filter and fully synthetic oil), coolant changes (2-3 years using the proper coolant and distilled water), brake fluid flushes every 2 years (I change the brake fluid before every track event) and changing the transmission fluid (+filter if it's an automatic) at 50k miles. My car has about 19k miles on the clock and I'll be changing the manual transmission fluid as soon as the local mil base opens its auto hobby shop.
Will the dealer not use distilled water unless you provide it? What I am getting at is, what would the dealer have used had you not provided the distilled water?
Appreciate 0
      04-03-2021, 06:45 PM   #6
dradernh
Brigadier General
dradernh's Avatar
4179
Rep
3,472
Posts

Drives: 2017 M240i
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Ohio

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by goover View Post
Will the dealer not use distilled water unless you provide it? What I am getting at is, what would the dealer have used had you not provided the distilled water?
The dealer is going to use whatever is called for. My guess is they have large containers of pre-mixed solution connected to overhead hoses located in each service bay. Just a guess, though.
__________________
2017 M240i: 23.6K, MT, Sunroof Delete, 3,432#, EB, Leather, Driving Assistance Package, Heated Front Seats | Sold: E12 530i, E24 M635CSi, E39 520i, E30 325is, E36 M3 (2)
TC Kline Coilovers; H&R Front Bar; Wavetrac; Al Subframe Bushings; 18X9/9½ ARC-8s; 255/35-18 PS4S (4); Dinan Elite V2 & CAI; MPerf Orange BBK; Schroth Quick Fit Pro;
GTechniq Crystal Serum Ultra Ceramic; Suntek PPF
Appreciate 1
WolfGTI688.50
      04-05-2021, 08:48 AM   #7
MarcoZandrini
Major
United_States
439
Rep
1,251
Posts

Drives: 2018 M240i
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Virginia

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by dradernh View Post
The dealer is going to use whatever is called for. My guess is they have large containers of pre-mixed solution connected to overhead hoses located in each service bay. Just a guess, though.
And, who knows what the water contains.
Appreciate 0
      04-05-2021, 09:25 AM   #8
dradernh
Brigadier General
dradernh's Avatar
4179
Rep
3,472
Posts

Drives: 2017 M240i
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Ohio

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by MarcoZandrini View Post
And, who knows what the water contains.
Good point – I imagine the service manager would answer the question.

I would hope they're using something like this: https://shop.puritansprings.com/55-g...stilled-water/.
__________________
2017 M240i: 23.6K, MT, Sunroof Delete, 3,432#, EB, Leather, Driving Assistance Package, Heated Front Seats | Sold: E12 530i, E24 M635CSi, E39 520i, E30 325is, E36 M3 (2)
TC Kline Coilovers; H&R Front Bar; Wavetrac; Al Subframe Bushings; 18X9/9½ ARC-8s; 255/35-18 PS4S (4); Dinan Elite V2 & CAI; MPerf Orange BBK; Schroth Quick Fit Pro;
GTechniq Crystal Serum Ultra Ceramic; Suntek PPF
Appreciate 0
      04-05-2021, 02:41 PM   #9
goover
Private
-4
Rep
54
Posts

Drives: 2018 230i Mineral Gray Met
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: South Carolina

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by MarcoZandrini View Post
And, who knows what the water contains.
So, should I bring my own distilled?
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:12 AM.




2addicts
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST